Re: [tied] Picene

http://digilander.libero.it/toponomastica/samnium.htmland
http://digilander.libero.it/toponomastica/picenum.htmlI wonder if someone is interested in the discussion of such names and of my "theory".

Toponyms are potentially useful additional information in the study
of which languages were spoken where and when. However, in order
for any proposed etymology to be of any use at all, there needs to
be some sort of correlation between it and the physical peculiarities
of the place involved. For example, what is sacred about Aesernia, or
white about Albinia? As you will appreciate, the roots that the place
names have been associated with are short and sometimes vague, so
I dare say anything could be made to fit any theory.

I am more interested in your section on Etruria, but take anything
Georgiev says about Etruscan with a BIG pinch of salt. If you want
to know more about the Etruscan language, I suggest you read
somebody sober and thorough like Joseph Pfiffig or Helmut Rix.
Most other people are just talking through their hats. And contrary
to what some people on this list would have you believe, it isn't
closely related to IE, but I wouldn't have expected it to have much
impact on place names in Etruria because Etruscan was only around
for a thousand or so years and most of the people who spoke it were
recently descended from former speakers of Umbrian.

Ed Robertson